Of all the facepalms I could make, the last few weeks deserve an Andre the Giant sized slap. When the narratives of wrestling fans are built and believed solely on lies, it makes all of us look bad. The amount of garbage that gullible people will believe these days is downright frightening. 

The internet is just a miserable place, isn’t it? 

Now there are narratives on both sides of the coin when given both major wrestling promotions- 

No, you know what? There really isn’t. Because many online wrestling fans can’t seem to think outside of a hive mindset, the trend has narrowed the focus of fans ire into one company. It is far from the 50/50 “equal trolling on both sides” environment we were in circa 2020-21.

While obnoxiously boastful at first, many AEW fans have quieted down online. We know the product is in a rebounding stage, and that certain areas of the company need delicate work. We aren’t naive to this, but choose to stay loyal to the company, offer good faith criticism, and root for their success. 

But what has tipped the scales in the current pro wrestling internet zeitgeist is the return of something we’ve seen nearly two decades ago:

The bandwagon trend of lambasting the No.2 wrestling company.

It’s TNA circa 2006-08 all over again. When the discourse was fairly toxic on wrestling forums  (though not nearly as bad as it is now) and select entitled WWE fans would look down at TNA fans and offer little insight and constructive criticism in favor of constant bullying and trolling. 

On a Personal Note

My personal opinion? I believe this sect of fans simply shifted from complaining/trolling about WWE to TNA, back to WWE and then to AEW. I believe a large portion of jaded and disingenuous WWE fans pre-2020 simply wanted AEW to be a better version of WWE, and to not actually form their own identity or style. Once it was clear that AEW wasn’t going that route, and the WWE product became hot, everyone started to pile on the ‘AEW Hate’ bandwagon.

Now granted, and this is the part most will conveniently forget, not all WWE fans are like this. There are really cool WWE fans that either quietly respect the differences in product and don’t watch (or troll), or understand that AEW is an alternative and will view it through such a lens. Or actually enjoy both. 

As for me? I’m just an AEW fan speaking truth. I very rarely watch WWE at all, and will sort of check-in from a distance. I have my own personal criticisms of the product as well. Mainly that the overproduced and sanitized presentation of the product takes away from the suspension of disbelief in a product centered around a “fight”. It’s family-friendly, and very kid-friendly, and that’s just not my scene. If you like it, cool. But it’s not really for me at this point in my life.

But speaking of narratives…

There exists a group of low-grade false narratives that need to be locked into portable toilets and set on fire. One of which has been spoken of recently, and that can be debunked with simple statistics. 

The disingenuous notion that AEW is “TNA 2.0”. 

What a brave and thought-provoking take! A take no doubt regurgitated from the depths of the IWC’s darkest basements. Note of digression: Why do AEW fans get looped into being low-income “basement dwellers” when studies show that AEW fans actually have the highest median income compared to WWE? 

According to a Wrestlenomics report, the majority of college-educated viewers, and those with higher median incomes, tune into AEW over WWE.

“Despite good viewership, FOX dropped WWE Smackdown because high level advertisers are not interested in buying ad space on wrestling shows due to low income and education levels among the viewership.”

Hmm…but we’re the basement dwellers living with our parents, according to many bad faith trolls…

Anyway…

It’s too bad this terrible reactionary take that ‘AEW is TNA 2.0′ is wrong on all levels, which can be disproven with a simple set of facts. Who actually believes this? Bad faith wrestling fans, and unfortunately, they’re growing in size…

–

Statistically Speaking…

Let’s take a look at TNA’s roster from 2005-2008, which many find to be TNA’s nostalgic heyday. When we look at the rosters, we find that anywhere from 35-50% of the roster makeup is of former WWE talents. This trend largely continues, even through the 2010s.

As for AEW, that number drops to around 25% or less. That’s right, nearly 3/4s of the entire roster are “original”/non-WWE AEW talents.

Facts are oblivious to narratives. 

But what about title-holders? They have to be pushing ex-WWE talents, right? Well let’s look at TNA from 2002-2017 and their world champions. Jeff Jarrett, Sting, Kurt Angle, Ron Killings, Ken Shamrock, Bully Ray, Jeff Hardy. Rob Van Dam, Bobby Lashley, etc. Original TNA talent, right? Original talents like Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles as champions were few and far between in this era. 

Out of 21 reigns in the NWA World Championship era of TNA (2002-07) only 4 were “original” talents. When re-branded into the TNA/Impact World Championship from 2007-2017, not even a quarter of championship reigns were held by “original” TNA talents. They were mostly imported from Stamford.

–

As for AEW, in their entire title history, not even 40% have been former WWE talents. Out of 10 current title holders, only 4 are “ex-WWE”. Three of which have been long since repackaged. 

So to circle back: Unlike TNA, AEW has nearly three-fourths of their roster as original/non-WWE talent, and this reflects in their title history, unlike TNA. But I know the next argument: 

“But they’re pushing all ex-WWE talents!”

…Maji de?まじで?

–

A Look Back at Main Events

You’ll notice a trend when you revisit monthly PPV main events for TNA in their history. They were largely headlined by Kurt Angle, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, and Christian Cage. At least until around 2009-10 when they shifted to A.J. Styles, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, and Mr. Anderson as headliners. 

As for AEW, with the exception of Jericho and Moxley for the first 2 years, it’s been a healthy mix of original talent and established veterans. In fact out of the top 10 AEW wrestlers to appear on PPVs the most, only Jericho and Moxley make up “ex” WWE talent on that list. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_All_Elite_Wrestling_pay-per-view_events

In fact, even the large majority of AEW Dynamite main events in 2023 were statistically headlined by original/non-WWE talent. This information is not hard to find…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AEW_Dynamite_episodes

But one main event with Adam Copeland and Christian Cage and suddenly AEW is becoming TNA 2.0? This sounds like the rantings of complete marks with reactionary takes who can’t be bothered to actually watch the product to begin with in order to stay desperately relevant in the IWC. 

AEW is doing nothing different than what WWE has done at times. You don’t think WWE has featured old hands in their main events on occasion? Copleland/Edge was literally headlining shows for WWE earlier this year. 

Oh, but it’s okay when they do it, right? 

Regular viewers know that the Continental Classic has been taking up most of the shows lately, as well as the clear push of Swerve Strickland. Again, for those who actually watch the program instead of coming up with half-baked reactionary takes, this isn’t news. And to hammer this point home, the large majority of all matches on all shows (Dynamite/Collision/Rampage) are made up of mostly original talents. All you have to do is actually watch — or at the least — do a basic level of research. These weekly cards aren’t hard to find…

To make such a statement otherwise is just downright dishonest.

–

Tony Khan is Not Dixie Carter

Sure, TNA drew well over a million viewers, and even over 2 million once in their day. But we all know that’s a different time when it comes to TV ratings. Anyone with half-a-brain understands that people are watching television much differently than they were 15 years ago. 

In fact, while TNA was getting outwatched by nearly four times as many WWE viewers, TNA failed to maintain the top cable spot for their designated night even once throughout their tenure on SpikeTV (if I’m not mistaken).

AEW Dynamite has regularly hit the #1 spot on cable television for their night, and usually hovers in the top 3-5 consistently. Again, folks are watching TV differently now. 

Aside from that, they are on a major network in TBS/TNT. While SpikeTV drew decent numbers in their day, the network pales in comparison to the reach that Warner Brothers/Discovery has. And aside from that, we know that Dixie Carter simply did not have the deep pockets that Tony Khan does. 

Hell, TNA never really even made money given their primetime spot. AEW, on the other hand, has been taking in a hundreds of millions for this year, growing their revenue by 67% compared to 2022. While recent reports from Wrestlenomics have AEW losing money overall this year, if you understand how business works, this isn’t an issue. 

Solidifying your market with a focus on cash flow over accounting losses is very common in larger businesses that become extremely successful in the future. Growing revenue year-over-year is what you want as a business, regardless. 

Sorry, marks. AEW is actually still growing, even if misleading and dishonest pictures of hard cam shots on social media try to tell you otherwise. (I’ll wait for the inevitable comments from armchair “experts” that ticket sales are down year-over-year, so AEW must be failing, when ticket sales make up a small portion of overall revenue)

And let’s be honest, TNA never broke records and nearly filled Wembley Stadium. 

–

Debunked

Only a disingenuous and uneducated wrestling fan truly believes that AEW is just another version of TNA. When you break it down in tl;dr terms: 

-AEW’s roster is mostly all original talent.
-AEW draws in good TV ratings and delivers the top cable TV spot (or close to) consistently for their night (unlike TNA).
-They have an A+ roster when it comes to talent; arguably better than WWE’s even.
-AEW continues to grow, tour, and does good numbers with PPVs (All In/Wembley, Double or Nothing,  etc.) – TNA never really packed larger arenas.
-Most AEW main events/weekly matches feature their young, original stars. 

Most importantly, they have always favored a heavy in-ring focus over sports entertainment. With the exception of the X-Division, TNA never really hammered on this notion. TNA was called ‘WWE-Lite’ so many years for a reason.

Narratives are fine, until they fall apart when they’re based on complete fabrications. It’s sort of like the conspiracy nuts who still believe the 2020 Election was stolen. It may have sounded sexy at first to the right people – but then once the facts started to drip, and the 60+ court cases of fraud were dismissed due to a lack of evidence to begin with – it totally fell apart. 

And now most who still believe this are tin-foil hat-wearing kooks. 

Believing in these false narratives when direct evidence points to the contrary is an example of stunted growth. It’s an inability to evolve. Above all, though, it’s just really low-effort. 

But these narratives can be reckless, and end up hurting pro wrestling as a whole. AEW is not TNA, or WCW, or New Japan. They are simply AEW.

-TKW
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

Author’s note: I was actually planning on stopping this. However, a change of heart, and the fact that people can’t seem to keep my name out of their mouth leads me here. Again.  Hell, Tito has retired how many times? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Meh. Just have fun with it…I don’t owe anyone here anything.

The post DEBUNKED: No, AEW is NOT “TNA 2.0” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

–

Guest Columnist: Steamy Ray Vaughn
“Toxic Wrestling Fandom”

I want to start this column by thanking T5W for allowing me to use his platform to voice my opinion. Not a lot of people would be so willing to publish a stranger’s text and it speaks volumes to his character that he’d be willing to do so.

My name is Steamy Ray Vaughn (ok not really but that’s the handle I use on most social media) and I’ve been a pro wrestling fan for 30+ years. I’ve written wrestling columns in the past, but as I’ve gotten older and time has become more of a scarcity, I prefer going in the comments section, on Reddit or on Twitter to have discussions with other wrestling fans, since that’s what I’ve always liked. I love a good debate and since writing a column doesn’t guarantee engagement, I’ve chosen to go that route.

However, I’ve been seeing a trend coming in the last few years, but it’s gotten worse in the last few months, of really extreme tribalism amongst wrestling fans. I vividly remember the Monday Night Wars, I was in high school and was around for the newsgroups in Usenet, the forums and the birth of what would become the IWC. I was hooked on the Net pretty much the first time I got my own computer (I think I was around 15) and since I always liked wrestling, having the chance to talk with fans from all over the world was fetch as hell (Stop trying to make fetch happen Steamy, it’s not going to happen!).

If you watch documentaries nowadays or hear from WWE, they’ll tell you that there was an all-out war between WCW and WWF, that there were fans on both sides and that there could be only one. Nothing could be further from the truth. I remember very well that while there were people who only watched one product, most wrestling fans watched BOTH. Yes, they might prefer one over the other, but you wouldn’t hear the kind of vitriol you see online today between “WCW” and “WWF” fans. They shared an audience who liked pro wrestling and were interested in what the nWo was doing, as well as what Austin was going to do to Mr. McMahon. Were Vince and Bischoff serious? Of course. But for most fans, it was more fun and games than an “I hate you” war.

So what changed?

1- History is written by the victors

The narrative that has been pushed by WWE over the last 20 years is that it truly was a war, that WWE were in danger and that Ted Turner and Time Warner were out to spend whatever amount they could to steal WWE’s top stars. I’m slightly exaggerating of course, but the message has still been that WWE was the underdog and that basically it was a war to end it all.

Since WCW’s closing, there hasn’t really been a company that has come even close to challenging WWE for talent. Because let’s be clear here, it’s all about talent. Yes, there are other metrics that matter when it comes to running a wrestling company, but the bread and butter, the item that is the scarcest is talent. That’s why WWE built a Performance Center, to try and recruit athletes who may not become wrestlers otherwise and ensure they have talent to put on TV. It can take years for someone to break out of the pack and become a star, so when there’s an International free agent or someone who is making noise on the independent scene available, they become valuable.

Iron sharpens iron. You can teach someone how to do the moves, how to take a bump, but it’s by getting in the ring with someone else, especially someone better, that they’ll grow. When WCW and ECW closed, WWE now had access to all these great pro wrestlers and no one to outbid them. That was a sweet deal and for decades, it went unchecked. Sure there was TNA, but while they had some good young talent, they weren’t going to outbid WWE; the talent that stayed in TNA either loved the company or weren’t on WWE’s radar. When NXT was at its peak, it was the go-to destination for veteran indy talent and international free agents to go and be a part of the WWE system but with more freedom and a much lesser chance to get lost in the shuffle. WWE had the perfect system in place. It could use its Performance Center to find potential gems as well as sign the top independent talent who bring credibility to their developmental brand and potentially become stars on the main roster, it was the best possible scenario for a company that sat alone at the top of an industry.

But then came AEW.

Now financially, WWE’s basically fail-proof at this stage thanks to their huge TV deals and selling the Network to Peacock. Before they sell even a single ticket, they are guaranteed about 750M$ in revenue.

We know they have a ton of revenue, but what about expenses? Well, like any other business, their biggest expense is people, more specifically talent. As a public company, it’s not enough to just make money, they have to show growth quarter over quarter or the stock value falls. If the stock value falls, the net worth of the biggest shareholders (which at the time would have been The McMahon family/Triple H) also falls. Having someone else with money, that’s got a national TV deal in place barely out of the gate, that’s bad news. Now it’s no longer “take it or leave it dear wrestler”. If you don’t like the WWE’s offer, you can go knock on Tony Khan’s door and see if he’s willing to pay. Good for talent, bad for business.

So what did WWE do? Immediately they put NXT on the USA Network for 2 hours (whereas it used to be a 1 hour taped show on the WWE network). Now I don’t believe this was done just because of AEW. It makes sense to sell the rights and get even more money, but the timing sure was convenient. All of a sudden there’s competition for talent, and WWE paint the target on AEW. A new generation of wrestling fans have grown up hearing that competing with WWE is bad and that WWE is the be all and end all. They now aim for a repeat of what they did against WCW, but it backfires. The tactic doesn’t work and NXT moves nights to Tuesday. This was a big blow to WWE’s ego. NXT was their ace in the hole. Putting RAW or Smackdown against Dynamite would have absolutely won them the “ratings war”, but not only would it have been overkill, there could have been no denying that the WWE wanted to put AEW out to pasture before it could even become a thing. But NXT? It’s a small show, it’s also very similar in nature to the product AEW would put on and they can spin it as a coincidence. With that, the seeds were planted. While the discourse wasn’t as toxic as it would get later on, there was some partisanship on both sides. The “Wednesday Night War” they called it.

And so the whispers started.

2 – The American Nightmare returns

In 2019, Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and ROH put on a massive event in Chicago. A love letter to independent wrestling; no letters on the marquee, just two words: All In. That night, sitting in the stands is a lifelong wrestling fan and son of a billionaire, (Shahid Khan, owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and EPL’s Fulham FC), Tony Khan.

The success of that event, combined with the clear passion and desire of The Elite to stand out and prove that you can have a successful and lucrative career without the WWE, results in the Elite joining forces with Tony Khan to form AEW. They start off hot with their first event, Double or Nothing in 2019. Here is this new company that’s never put on a show before, and they go straight to PPV. It was a bold move, and it worked. To put a cherry on top of a successful event, Jon Moxley, previously known as Dean Ambrose, debuts. Mox had just left WWE voluntarily, letting his contract expire and choosing to join a brand-new promotion instead of staying in WWE and the security that comes with a steady paycheck. Soon after, we learned that AEW will be airing a TV show on TNT every Wednesday starting in October 2019. The whispers now become murmurs, especially given that 4 of their wrestlers are going to be Executive Vice President. Is this going to cause a conflict of interest? What kind of power will they have and can they co-exist? Wrestling is a business of egos and while they may all be aligned now; their backgrounds couldn’t be more different. The grandson of a plumber, born into wrestling royalty and who made a name for himself in the biggest promotion in the world; two skinny brothers from California who became experts at marketing themselves and helped bring attention to tag team wrestling, and a young Canadian gaijin who made a name for himself in Japan by having incredible matches that caught the attention of the IWC.

And for the next few years, we see talent leave WWE to go to AEW. Some of it due to releases during the pandemic, some of them choose not to renew their deals in order to take advantage of an opportunity to have freedom and be themselves while making good money. It seems it’s a one-way street. And then, a shocker, Cody Rhodes, one of the founding members of AEW, an EVP and one of the biggest stars on the original roster, leaves and returns to WWE in early 2022. He comes back to WWE in triumphant fashion, at WrestleMania, with the exact same presentation he had in AEW. Same gear, same nickname, same music, same entrance. He’s welcomed like a conquering hero and presented as a star.

This isn’t Stardust, it’s not Legacy Cody, the message is clear…this is the man. WWE doesn’t do this often. Right away it’s clear that Cody isn’t being brought in just to be another guy, but a top guy. This was the Cody who was stuck in the “Codyverse” in AEW, refusing to turn heel and who was floundering in the midcard. By doing this, WWE was sending a message to wrestling fans and to any potential AEW talent that was hesitant about possibly joining WWE.

Now this event starts discussions. What happened backstage to make Cody leave his own company? Did he not get along with The Bucks? Were his ideas ignored? There are rumors that the inmates run the asylum in AEW and now the backlash starts. Fans who ignored AEW, who made fun of Cody for his work in AEW celebrate his return at WrestleMania as the conquering hero who came home. It’s not just that someone from AEW signed with WWE, that was going to happen one day, but it was Cody Rhodes, who was the most visible EVP. To be fair, we don’t truly know what the EVP job entails, there’s never been much clarity given apart from having some influence over creative, but Cody was on TV wearing the headset, he was much more open and transparent about his duties. People therefore assumed he was happy and was looking forward to AEW’s continued growth and then, he goes to WWE. Not only were there murmurs, now there’s rumblings. The earth is shaking amongst the fandom and while we’re not at the catalyst yet, it would soon come.

END OF PART 1

Follow me on Twitter @steamyrv

The post Guest Column: Toxic Wrestling Fandom (Part One) appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

It looks like the “Best in the World” needed one last ego trip…

For those who know the type of person he is, to the surprise of no one, C.M. Punk is now back in WWE. Color me one of those “unsurprised” individuals. I’ve been calling for his dismissal from AEW for well over a year prior to his All In fiasco. I’ve long known who Phil Brooks is, and I’m not alone.

If you read any interviews from folks like Eddie Kingston, Colt Cobana, Bobby Fish, Seth Rollins, A.J. Styles, and of course, The Elite — you know how the story of Punk is laced with controversy. “Talented”, yes, but “difficult to work with” is an understatement. Hell, Seth Rollins even called him a cancer.

And they have reason. As history has proven time and time again, Punk is only really looking out for one person. Himself.

There are a history of backstage incidents and sour sentiment involving Punk, from Ring of Honor to WWE, and most recently, AEW. And one can only make an assumption on the source of the issues. Is it everyone else involved? Cobana, Burke, Styles, Rollins, Page, The Bucks, Omega, Perry, etc…

Well, they aren’t the common denominator. C.M. Punk is. What Punk isn’t, however, is the “voice of the voiceless”. He is instead the “epitome of ego”.

Voice of the Voiceless No Longer

Remember the pipebomb promo? That was a cool moment, right?

Punk put on a wonderful front about standing up for wrestling fans who have had their intelligence long insulted. He “stood up” up to the WWE corporatocracy and to Vince McMahon. However, lest we forget, the end of the night, Punk still cashed a hefty WWE paycheck.

At the end of the night, Punk was paid well to play the victim. And this is what Phil Brooks does best.

He plays the victim card.

First of all, anyone who bangs their fist on the table to loudly proclaim that they’re straight edge is probably the biggest prick in the room, but I digress.

Punk was given a reign as WWE Champion that lasted over 400 days. He was pushed on video game covers and PPV posters. He had main event programs with The Undertaker, Jeff Hardy, and Triple H.

It still wasn’t enough. So why did we think AEW would be any different?

A man can change, right? That is until he didn’t, and decided to throw an entire company under the bus on a live media scrum. A man can be given a second chance and change, right? That is until he didn’t, and threatened his own boss with violence because of heat with another wrestler.

Beyond at all that, though. Punk is a giant hypocrite — kind of like Cody Rhodes (we’ll get to him).

The “C” in C.M. Stands for Corporate

What I find amusing is how little Punk actually cares about his own personal social beliefs. Remember this now deleted tweet made towards The Miz in 2020?

“Go suck a blood money covered dick in Saudi Arabia you f*cking dork”

Right, Punk has integrity! He would never want anything to do with a company that runs shows funded by a government with hundreds of human rights violations, right?

He would never take Saudi Arabian blood money — except that he is.

Punk would never take money from a company built by a man who openly supported Donald Trump; who actively tried suppressing Trans rights — except that he is. 

He wouldn’t want anything to do with a company in WWE that is so fervently anti-union, right? Except that he is.

Phil cares so much about women’s rights as well, correct? It’s convenient that he seemed to forget that Nick Khan himself donates money to the Republican Party. In fact, most higher-ups in WWE regularly donate to Republican causes — the party who is actively anti-woman when it comes to reproductive rights.

But don’t let that get in the way of your spitefulness towards Tony Khan, eh?

For this is what it’s truly about for Mr. Brooks: His own ego. It is more important for Brooks to sacrifice his own personal beliefs and integrity simply to stick it to his old boss; and for a fat paycheck as icing on the cake.

Phil Brooks can’t stand for anything when he’s too busy on his knees selling out.

Punk truly doesn’t care about women’s or trans rights. He doesn’t care about strengthening unions, or creating better working conditions for pro wrestlers. Punk certainly doesn’t care about human rights violations in one of WWE’s biggest sponsors.

He only really cares about himself. Speaking of which…

The Codyverse is Not Immune To Ego

To a lesser extent, Cody Rhodes and C.M. Punk are different shades of the same coin. The difference here is that I actually like Cody Rhodes. But I have to call it as I see it. This is a man who promised a “revolution” and to listen to fans.

He took the sledgehammer and “crushed” the throne of Triple H at the inaugural Double or Nothing. He was one of the leaders of this new wrestling promotion that could actually compete with the corporate monster that is WWE. Rhodes consistently spoke of anti-monopoly resentment. He bashed the antiquated ways in which WWE had been operating for decades to put over a new breed of pro wrestling in AEW.

But I don’t believe he ever thought it would take off. 

I’m speculating, and I could be wrong, but it is my belief that Cody never truly thought AEW would succeed. He looked at Tony Khan, an inexperienced wrestling promotor, teamed up with a group of talents known more for their work in Japan than the U.S. He looked at Chris Jericho, who was on the tail end of his career, and while Jon Moxley is a nice touch, he’s not a needle-mover on his own.

Deep down, I believe Cody never expected much out of AEW in terms of success.

So he booked himself into a corner where he could “never” compete for a world title in AEW. And when talent far greater than him started to roll into AEW (Danielson, Cole, Black, etc.), and talent far greater than him started to become more popular than him (Page, Omega, Cassidy, etc.), he had a serious talk with his own ego.

Cody became a parody of himself in AEW, and in some ways, largely swung and missed with the AEW fans. His contract with the company was soon up. And then Mr. Levesque called…

Why stay in AEW as a mid-carder when he could get paid more to be the #2 in the largest known wrestling promotion in the world? 

Screw the revolution, right?

Like Punk, Rhodes sacrificed any integrity he had to placate his own ego. He took the easy way out. And so did Punk.

Everyone is Taking AEW For Granted

Punk and Rhodes as well…

Aside from being a clear alternative to WWE’s PG style, let’s be brutally honest. At the least, AEW is another place for pro wrestlers to make a living. Even if you don’t like the product, at the very absolute least, it’s somewhere else wrestlers can make a good living at their craft. Actively cheering on their demise is something a low-IQ, basement dwelling incel would do.

Finding any way to throw shade at them simply out of dislike is quite the childish feat.

AEW is the NWA/New Japan/PWG hybrid. You’re going to get Strong Style, Lucha Libre, Hardcore, and Old-School styles of wrestling all on one show. You’re going to get sports-influenced tournaments, “indyriffic” spots, “blood & guts”, and a little “sports entertainment” in one weekly broadcast.

There is something for everyone in AEW. It’s a “buffet” of wrestling as opposed to the usual WWE menu of one plate. You’ll never get anything in AEW close to what you see in WWE on a weekly basis aside from the occasional “sports entertainment” in a few segments.

And if you’re a WWE fan, and you prefer that style of presentation and family-friendly, formulaic wrestling, great! Different strokes…But it’s funny how many pro-WWE/anti-AEW “fans” continue to bash AEW for the very thing that makes it different in the first place.

Did You Actually Want An Alternative?

Look, nothing is perfect, AEW included. But how many years did internet fans clamor for an alternative? How many years did many of us complain about WWE’s poor quality? Above all, many fans just wanted something different.

Oh, but not like THAT, right?

WWE — Story-Focused | Formulaic | Sanitized | Kid-Friendly | PG | Hero-Booking
AEW — Wrestling-Focused | Different wrestling styles | Violent | Adult-Geared | TV-14 | Strong Style Booking

Stop trying to put AEW into a box in which they simply do not fit in. They have their own style. Love it or leave it; but don’t trash it.

This is All Elite Wrestling. Comprised of what can easily be argued as the most talented roster in the world, possibly even in wrestling history. And if it were to ever fold, remember, we’re back to one less place to work for over one hundred wrestlers. We’re back to the monopoly-influenced environment that bred AEW in the first place.

You don’t have to like AEW. But taking the easy way out like Punk and Rhodes to dismiss the #2 brand simply because it’s the cool thing to do is a low-effort attitude. And so many gullible fans are jumping on this bandwagon right now.

Did You Forget AEW Is An Alternative?

If you are familiar with my past work, in good faith, then you know I am no stranger to criticizing AEW. From past inconsistent booking, to a lackadaisical approach towards women’s wrestling (which has admittedly improved in 2023), and the sometimes PR nightmare that is Tony Khan himself.

However, I tend to defend this promotion on good faith, as much as I possibly can. But mixed responses to the Hangman/Swerve match have brought me full circle with my general approach to the AEW product. And it’s why I’m leaning in to support this company more than ever at this point.

As for the Swerve Strickland vs. “Vampire” Adam Page 5-STAR match. Grow up, get over it, or go back to your kid-friendly WWE product. When did wrestling fans become so weak? We saw worse stuff during the ECW/Attitude Era.

Blood and Guts in pro wrestling has been around for decades. Go back and rewatch the Greg Valentine/Roddy Piper dog collar match from 1983 and note the screaming happy children in the crowd. They certainly didn’t need protection from all the blood being shed.

Dusty Rhodes, Bruiser Brody, Abdullah the Butcher, The Valiant Brothers, The Sheik, Jerry Graham — the list goes on of old school bleeders from the 60s and 70s that make Full Gear‘s Texas Deathmatch match look like child’s play.

AEW is an alternative. (See prior section)

But I don’t think many internet fans actually want that. Many would rather have a product where they can have the perception of active participation/input, as if their opinion matters. For many WWE fans, or casual fans, what it means to be a true alternative is mostly lost on them.

Alternative usually means counter-culture — even if just in spirit. You’re either with that — or you’re not.

Going Home. For good.

I know what the sentiment will be with a piece like this. The “butthurt” AEW fan mad at Rhodes and Punk for leaving. So I’ll cheer on AEW and simp out for their product in retaliation.

…I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks. I was never a huge Punk fan and knew of his past issues — and I was never really into Cody Rhodes as well. I have nothing to prove to literally anyone.

Punk appearing at Survivor Series was a shot fired at AEW, however. Cody Rhodes “the EVP in me” joke at the Survivor Series press conference was another shot fired as well.  I can recognize that the optics aren’t great for AEW. Two major stars leave, and when you loop Cargill into that, it’s as if talent is running away from AEW — which isn’t the case at all.

What we have is two major stars that couldn’t set aside their own egos for the sake of pro wrestling.

And with that, a bigger issue — that of wrestling fans that can’t set aside their own egos to simply enjoy both promotions in good faith; or at the least, enjoy one without bashing the other. I’ve been guilty of this myself at times.

AEW is an easy target when the shots are fired from the #1 promotion and their fans — and especially those who write bad faith articles and social media posts in doing so. These people contribute nothing of value to the wrestling industry, and in all honesty, hurt it greatly.

Look, I am hopeful for AEW’s future. I believe a new TV deal is coming, and that between MJF, Ospreay, Cole, The Elite, etc. — that AEW will be just fine without Punk (they have been if you haven’t noticed), and they’ve been fine without Cody.

However…

The Monopoly Will Return One Day Unless…

Whether it’s in a few years, or even 5-6 years, I get the sinking feeling that AEW won’t be around forever. Part of that is likely due to too much time on social media, but part of that is wrestling history.

The longest modern competitor to WWE was WCW from (roughly) 1995-2001. That’s only 6 years. AEW is already well past half of that number. But if it were to ever fold; for any reason, we’re going to be back in the wrestling dark ages.

And then fans will complain…again…but probably about WWE.

Personal note: And I can’t do that anymore. I’m attending this week’s Dynamite. My second wrestling show of the year (the first being Stardom). It was incredible to attend Stardom knowing that I could just take it at face value and nothing else. I don’t have to worry about what the internet is thinking or if I should write a column about it.

I have a good life; a great partner, and a solid career. I simply want to do more; be it write novels, travel, etc…and man, does being an online wrestling fan drag me down.

So I’m removing myself. I get to experience wrestling like a “casual”. Even my Disqus account will be deleted by Wednesday morning. And to be honest — I think many online wresting fans would benefit from doing the same. Snarky anti-AEW or anti-WWE comments doesn’t actually help pro wrestling — especially when nobody is really having any real conversations anymore (myself included sometimes).

What will help is attending shows, buying merch, staying positive (critique in good faith), and tuning in. It’s as simple as that.

So in wrestling nerd-like fashion I end with my favorite wrestler’s farewell:

I must bid you adieu, so goodbye everyone, *mwah* and goodnight. Bang!

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post Why C.M. Punk and Cody Rhodes Are Pro Wrestling’s Biggest Hypocrites appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Before you come at me with a “what a stupid mark” comments…

No, I am not blindly defending the owner of All Elite Wrestling. There still exists problems with the company that I wish to be addressed. The sometimes inconsistent booking, the women’s division in general, and too much Ring of Honor on AEW TV are still current concerns of mine.

However, sometimes we need to step outside of our boxes and take an honest look at the landscape. I went back to an article from late 2022 regarding 10 things I wanted out of AEW in 2023 to see how he did. I also looked through a few other pieces for comparison.

And the results were…interesting.

But first, a note for better context: 

The Roster is Big. But It’s Also Insanely Talented

I think this gets overlooked more than it should.

When Vince McMahon hoarded talented away from the territories in the mid to late 80s, he built a stacked roster. Roddy Piper, Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Harley Race, Ricky Steamboat — and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

He used them well enough, but with the exception of Savage, none of these talents ever touched the WWF World Championship during that time. That honor was (mostly) saved for Hulk Hogan. We’re seeing a similar situation with Roman Reigns in WWE, currently. There are lots of main event talents; Cody Rhodes, LA Knight, A.J. Styles, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntrye, etc. — and you can make a case for any of them to be world champion right now.

But that’s not how the company is booked; and with the exception of the Attitude Era, has always been this way to an extent.

AEW is simply not booked to center around one top guy. What’s happening with MJF right now is a bit of an outlier in the historical booking sense. But simply put: The AEW roster is probably the most talented roster in the world. You have up to two-dozen legitimate current and future main event talents in this company.

It’s not easy to book so many great wrestlers in a fulfilling manner. Not impossible, but not easy. Whether or not Khan is up for the task remains to be seen. He’s still green when it comes to the business, and is very much learning on the job. But given how much AEW has accomplished, and how fast they’ve grown in such a short time; give the credit where it’s due.

Has Tony Khan Delivered on the Desires of Fans?

Short answer: Yes. 

Here is my personal asks from last year, and throughout this year. It’s not just me; a lot of fans share my sentiments on what “needed to change” from this company in 2023.

√ “Breathe” (Better pacing in weekly broadcasts) — This is something that was actually improved on compared to 2022.
√ Get the TBS title off of Cargill — Regardless of circumstances, this happened, and Statlander was the right person to take it off of her.
X  Fix Rampage — This has not happened.
X A Weekly All-Women’s Show — Still waiting on this…see above…
√ Purge the Roster — This has actually slowly happened, as we’ve seen many releases over the last year.
√ Push The House of Black — They won the trios titles, and are in another tag team title match at Full Gear. Julia Hart has seen a significant push.
X No ROH on AEW TV — This is a miss.
√ Fire C.M. Punk — This happened one way or another…
√ Keep Pushing Youth — Most storylines and current champions revolve around young wrestlers. Checkmark.
√ Build for Forbidden Door Must Improve — I even asked for the coveted Danielson/Okada match, and we got it. It was magical.
√ Get Sammy Guevara out of the JAS — Check. The JAS is no more.
√ Lean Into Orange Cassidy — Check. His initial AEW International Championship run was truly great.
√Create an AEW ‘Young Lions Cup’ — We’re getting the AEW version of the G1 Climax in the Continental Classic. That’s close enough…
√ Stop Overprotective Booking — Check.
√ Book the Women Better — What? Why is there a checkmark? This will be explained in the next section.

For my personal asks, Khan hit 12/15. That’s not actually bad at all. So what about the women? Well, in hindsight…it’s been better than we think, even though there’s a long way to go…

Has The Women Been Booked Better?

Ah, yes, the much desired “2 women’s matches per week” narrative. I still agree with this narrative, but I can’t honestly deny that some advancements were made this year for women’s wrestling in AEW.

There is still a long way to go, don’t get me wrong. But I can’t knock even the slightest progress.

At Full Gear on Saturday, the women will have two matches, which is more than most PPVs. This should be the norm, but I’ll toast the progress when I see it. But if we reflect back, we had a stable created in The Outcasts, Kris Statlander returning to top form, and Julia Hart as a breakout star of the division.

We have two running angles with Hart/Blue/Nightingale/Statlander, and “Timeless” Toni Storm (a true gem) vs. Hikaru Shida. Keep in mind that two major stars in Jamie Hayter and Thunder Rosa were sidelined due to injury through 2023. Also keep in mind that Mercedes Mone was likely to appear in AEW if it weren’t for her own untimely injury.

Now look, I want to see two women’s matches per Dynamite. I want to see more character development, more continued stories, and generally more progress. But I’d be lying if I said the women’s division was worse off in 2023 than it was in 2022.

In short, even if not by that much, the women in AEW in 2023 have been booked better than prior years. If anything, it’s progress. There plenty yet to adjust, but this is the momentum to build upon.

Tony Khan is an Easy Target From Internet Bullies

Fun fact: Tony Khan has only made 10 “huge/important announcements” since AEW’s inception. There have been three this year, which probably makes this number seem higher. Out of his major announcements, most of them are actually warranted (no, last week’s was NOT warranted).

The internet likes to weave narratives that tend to be untrue to push an agenda. We see this in wrestling, politics, sports, you name it. Tony Khan is not the most charismatic of individuals. We all know this already. He never comes across as totally relaxed, or sometimes natural in his interviews or public announcements.

But is that something to pick on? It’s called anxiety. I am someone who is diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and I can see it a mile a way. Trust me, he probably has it. And while I can’t excuse his random outbursts on Twitter (put the phone down, Tony!), I also can’t really blame him, either.

He’s an easy target. And I hope he becomes a better manager and leader from these blemishes on AEW’s history (mostly from C.M. Punk).

AEW is the alternative, and when you have a million fans on social media telling him how to simultaneously run his promotion while bullying him at the same time, I can only imagine the weight that bears.

No, TK is not overly corporate in the sense that McMahon and Levesque are. The latter would usually ignore most internet comments. But would you rather have an owner that listens to his fans and does his best (even at the risk of having a few misses), or corporate heads that don’t really care about what the fans think at all?

Remember, we had the latter with WWE for many years…

Khan has made some P.R. blunders for sure — but at least he’s honestly doing his best — and I can appreciate that. I just hope he becomes a little more stoic in his approach to handling himself in the public eye moving forward.

Recency Bias is Making It Hard to be a Fan

Lastly, we must discuss recency bias.

What ‘ve personally realized is two major points:

1. Sans a political revolution, large progress rarely happens overnight.
2. We let our biases create false narratives.

Is WWE still the company that has boring and formulaic in-ring wrestling and values promos over matches? Actually, no. There have been some bangers over the past year, and even me, an AEW fan, can admit that. Is AEW just a constant spotfest every match with no psychology? Also, no. Any honest person can see that the in-ring product has probably gotten even better in 2023 for AEW.

Just because AEW was “____”, doesn’t mean they still are. 

Full Gear is shaping up to be a really good show. MJF vs. Jay White, Swerve vs. Page, Shida vs. Storm, Cassidy vs. Moxley — these are all top quality matchups with stories behind them. This doesn’t even include the Six-Man with Sting, Copeland, Darby vs. Cage, Wayne and Luchasaurus. The Bucks vs. Omega and Jericho could be a classic. Statlander vs. Hart vs. Blue should be exciting.

Full Gear could be the start to help build AEW back to where they were in 2021. At least this is my hope for the PPV. I can stomach The Big Show on Dynamite if it means we get The Bucks vs. Golden Jets instead. But this, along with Joe dropping the ROH TV title, makes me wonder if TK got the hint from many of his own fans regarding these occurring issues.

This is a very solid card. Are we going to let past biases get in the way of enjoying it? When we keep moving the goalposts and raising the bar higher and higher to blow up past assumed narratives it creates an unachievable goal.

High Expectations In Life Will Seldom Be Met

Again, AEW has its issues. I’ll be the first to say that. But so does every other wrestling company, no matter what letters are behind it. Too often, AEW is held to such a high standard that it sucks out any enjoyment some fans could ever have from the product.

I have my concerns. AEW is not perfect. But it’s still subjectively good overall. And when we place such high expectations on anything in life; much less a wrestling product, there’s a good chance that such expectations will never be met. I might have placed such high expectations on the brand myself. 

Tony Khan will do his best to listen to and pivot for his demanding fan base. He will no doubt have some hits, and have some misses — which we will (in good faith) call him out on. But I think it’s on us as fans to not be so hard on a young booker and see AEW for what it really is:

An alternative up against a corporate giant in WWE that is so secure in its place that it will never have to worry about what fans think. As much as I want to see AEW improve, and as much as I have called TK out in the past, I can’t lose sight of that. We have two major wrestling promotions after over 20 years of having only one. For my money, it’s best to just enjoy the wrestling — and for that matter — enjoy life.

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

Petition to turn AEW Rampage into an All-Women’s Show: 

https://chng.it/nSW2VZML42

The post In Defense of Tony Khan (Is the Internet Actually Wrong About Him?) appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

For those of you who have read my prior work, no, I didn’t forget that I’ve already written this article sometime ago. However, it’s a topic I believe needs to be touched upon once again  — but with additional points.

All Elite Wrestling has existed now for nearly five years and women still aren’t properly represented on their weekly broadcasts. It’s a fact basically every wrestling fan knows to be true at this point. There is simply no excuse for how women in AEW have been treated since its inception, and well, Warner Brothers Discovery and Tony Khan need to make it up to their roster, and their fans. It’s 2023 (get with the times); and it’s long overdue.

The fix? A revolutionary, never-been-done by a mainstream promotion, weekly, all-women’s broadcast. Don’t think it can be done? I’ve outlined the many reasons why it can, and should.

Because let’s face it: AEW Rampage has become the spiritual successor of Sunday Night Heat. Little matters on the broadcast in storyline progression, and the cards are mostly hastily thrown together. As much as I appreciate the work of Daniel Garcia and Trent Beretta — this is not a main event.

Let’s also come to another notable conclusion: While Tony Khan still has issues featuring his women’s roster on a weekly basis — the roster been vastly (and quietly) improved over the last year. Giving the women an entire hour per week (by default) addresses that problem.

Furthermore, let’s compare: This past week’s Rampage versus a would-be all-women’s booked card. Who wins? What show honestly looks better on paper; and would more fans tune into an all-women’s broadcast over the usual skippable Rampage?

But first, let’s address a possibly unpopular hot take:

The AEW Women’s Roster Is On Par With WWE’s

No, I’m serious. And with the recent addition of Mariah May, and likely arrival of Mercedes Mone, it becomes easy to drive this point home. For those who do not know how awesome Mariah May is — a video is linked below (credit: Joyful Violence). While she comes off as the quintessential “Barbie Girl”, she can F’n go in-ring. In Stardom she had many great matches, especially when teamed with fellow Club Venus member Mina Shirakawa.

But let’s take a look: Kris Statlander, Britt Baker, Toni Storm, Hikaru Shida, Jamie Hayter, Thunder Rosa, Saraya, Ruby Soho, Mariah May, Mercedes Mone (rumored), Willow Nightingale, Julia Hart, Skye Blue, Abadon, Taya Valkyrie, Emi Sakura, Nyla Rose, and that’s not remotely the entire roster.

And if TK was smart enough to nab May, he should be going after Deonna Purazzo from TNA when her contract is up in early 2024.

The talent has been there, and it’s on the level of WWE’s; we just haven’t really seen them. Catching no more than 5-7 women’s wrestlers per week in total just doesn’t cut it. Dedicating an entire show to help supplement this is only logical.

But talent alone isn’t the only reason…

Be the Revolution That Was Promised

Why wasn’t the above video heavily featured on this week’s Dynamite? It’s fire — and highlights the AEW women in a short music video featuring a well-known artist in Doja Cat.

You want your theme for this new women’s show? It’s right here. 

But beyond the fact that women’s wrestling as a whole deserves to have a mainstream show, wasn’t AEW supposed to be the wrestling revolution? Weren’t they supposed to be the company that takes chances and rarely plays it safe to maintain a true alternative image?

(it’s not like we’re asking one of AEW’s managers to do a line of cocaine on camera…)

If AEW and Warner Brothers/Discovery truly want to do something great for pro wrestling, they make this happen. Besides, even from a PR standpoint, the optics look great.

This is what alternatives do — they set the trend. AEW used to be that company. Did we forget how to trailblaze, Tony?

Comparing Shows

Let’s try an experiment:

We’ll compare last week’s Rampage to a mock-up of what a weekly women’s show would look like. This is saving some of your major stars for Dynamite and Collision as well.

Actual Rampage

-El Hijo Del Vikingo vs. Penta vs. Komander
-The Gunns vs. Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels
-Skye Blue vs. Marina Shafir
-Daniel Garcia vs. Trent Beretta

Women’s Rampage/All Elite Women

-Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Abadon (AEW Women’s Tag Team Championships)
-Hikaru Shida vs. Ruby Soho vs. Serena Deeb
-Mariah May vs. Red Velvet
-Kris Statlander vs. Britt Baker (TBS Championship)

Like any show, you sprinkle in segments throughout. Storm, Saraya, Rosa, Hayter, etc…they can all have their vignettes, or even in-ring promos.

Am I biased as a women’s wrestling fan to believe this looks better than an average Rampage? Perhaps. But will a lot of people likely agree with me? Probably.

But the average Rampage never feels special anymore, and it’s just seemingly thrown together. An all-women’s show feels special by default; and it addresses some major creative elephants in the room for Tony Khan. A weekly women’s broadcast works — want proof? Try Stardom…

There is a Reason Stardom is Successful

Stardom was more profitable than New Japan last year. That is incredibly telling that a market is out there for this kind of promotion. Hell, I made sure part of my recent personal trip to Tokyo included attending a Stardom show. And while yes, Japanese and American audiences may differ — it’s not by much. In the end, we’re all wrestling fans; and it’s more likely the average AEW fan would have heard of a Stardom talent over an average WWE fan.

You simply have to go all in on this idea (pun intended).

Stardom carved out an identity over the last 10 years; built with great in-ring wrestling, fun characters, solid storytelling, and creating a unique universe that fans can appreciate.

AEW women can easily do the same. If you build it, they will come. There is a lot of women’s wrestling fans out there, and that number is only going to grow with younger audiences.

But I know what you’re thinking after all of this…”it’ll never draw, right?”

Oh, you want numbers…

Women’s Sports Are On the Rise

The 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball national championship averaged 9.9 million viewers, making it the most watched women’s college basketball game of all-time. This happened in this modern cord-cutting era, too. The U.S. Women’s Soccer team averaged 5-6 million viewers for their games at this year’s World Cup.

The WBNA just experienced its most watched season in over 20 years.

New ventures into marketing towards women in major sports is starting to see life; leading to what is predicted as future growth for all women’s sports.

According to Jane McManus, Executive Director of the Center for Sports Media at Seton Hall University:

“The broadcasters are getting smarter because their ratings are showing them that they need to spend more time thinking about [women’s sport]. I think women at the VP level, and you are getting some of those rise, like at Google, are asking their companies why they’re investing in men’s and not spending sponsorship dollars on women’s sports as well. So I think that is going to change the way that a lot of people look at how they’re presenting women’s sports on television.”

In other words — more women’s sports is starting to mean more money for networks. Could we not apply this same logic to professional wrestling?

I think we can. As our society progresses to more opportunities and more equality in places it never was — women’s sports (and wresting) is due for a spike in interest and success.

It’s Time For a Weekly All-Women’s Show

It doesn’t even have to be called Rampage. In fact, it shouldn’t.

All Elite Women was trademarked in 2022 by Khan. What better name for an all women’s wrestling broadcast? The bottom line is this:

-Rampage doesn’t feel special anymore, and serves no real purpose.
-AEW needs to re-establish itself as an alternative.
-Women’s wrestling deserves a weekly show from a mainstream company.
-Women’s sports are on the rise.
-The AEW women’s roster has quietly gotten very good, and deserves more exposure.

To answer? Turn your Friday night timeslot into an all-women’s broadcast. Hand over booking reigns to Madison Rayne, Sarah Stock, Serena Deeb, and Jimmy Jacobs. Let this show grow into something fantastic.

If Women of Wrestling can pull in nearly 300,000 viewers on a Sunday night, then All Elite Women can do much more than that given the right marketing and creative push. At this point, Khan would be stupid not to pull the trigger on this.

Or much like how Britt Baker was running through the corridor with red smoke during the Doja Cat collaboration — is TK just blowing smoke up our asses when it comes to caring at all about women’s wrestling?

I’ve created a petition below to be sent to Warner Brothers/Discovery and Tony Khan in the near future. Sign the petition. Let’s show the wrestling world how much women deserve a weekly broadcast in these modern times. It’s long overdue.

https://chng.it/nSW2VZML42

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post Why AEW Rampage Needs to Re-Brand Into an All-Women’s Show appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

On October 2nd, 2019, I turned on what would be the first episode of AEW Dynamite. As a longtime wrestling fan, I would never look back. I was easily sucked in by the top-notch storytelling, amazing in-ring product, and the feeling that this was truly something different.

Multiple live shows, boatloads of merchandise and loot crates, PPVs, meet-and-greets — I’ve given Tony Khan a lot of money. Not just out of love for AEW, but for the promise that a needed mainstream alternative in the industry is so important to pro wrestling.

I’ve been defending this promotion at all costs over the years; though rightfully criticizing AEW when called for. But in the end, I never lost sight of what is a diehard support for the brand.

Until now.

Oddly, this has nothing to do with the somewhat hypocritical signing of Ric Flair. This, actually, has everything to do with the talented woman in my column header. A woman who has been there for years; and who I sadly missed out on seeing upon a recent excursion to Tokyo and a live Stardom show.

Giulia.

And, well, it looks as if what could be the hottest prospect in pro wrestling is headed to Stamford if reports are to be believed. For what this represents; for a fan like me, it changes everything…

Tony Khan Missed Out on Giulia; And That Says A Lot…

According to PWInsider, Giulia may be headed to WWE sooner than later. This puts me in a very weird spot; especially with the recent return of KAIRI. As someone who loves Stardom, how could I not watch a product with Io Shirai, KAIRI and Giulia?

Giulia could have signed anywhere in the world, but she seemingly chose WWE.

While I am not a fan of the WWE style, this element of my fandom starts to no longer matter here. This is something I will tune in for; as much I had hoped she would appear in AEW one day. But this isn’t a simple case of resentment because TK didn’t sign my favorite women’s wrestler.

Along with rumors of Will Ospreay to WWE, it sends a few clear messages: 

1. Women’s wrestling is simply STILL not valued in AEW. 

Julia Hart/Skye Blue and Storm/Shida have been entertaining, but we all know that this is a shell of what Khan could do with the potential of his women’s division. Losing out on Giulia all but cements that piece for me.

2. AEW is no longer the cool place to be. AEW is no longer the “revolution”.

See: Paul Wight.

Nobody Cares About The Big Show (etc…)

I have long made the case that AEW tends to push their youth. Most of their current title holders are in their late 20s/early 30s; and their roster is still fairly statistically young. Given all that, even Ric Flair on AEW TV makes sense given Sting’s retirement. As big of a piece of shit that Ric Flair is, I’m okay with this. But when I see Paul Wight on television again to team with an aging Chris Jericho, what am I to think?

This is nothing against Wight himself. In fact, it’s not even really about him.

It’s the vibe –  it’s all wrong. It’s optics.

As I made the point above; AEW is no longer the cool place to be — and it shows with moves like this. Yes, I know that MJF and Daniel Garcia have a match tomorrow; two 20-somethings battling for a world title, and that’s excellent. But the optics are still all off here overall. We simply shouldn’t see Paul Wight on our televisions in 2023, nor Jeff Jarrett, the Hardys, or QT Marshal.

And it’s a tone-deaf move on Tony’s part to think that his core base would be excited about this. There is an energy that has been lost. Possibly ever since Punk cut his infamous press conference lambasting of his own employer. A level of what was intense excitement has dwindled.

Something is missing…

Khan Has Lost Sight of the Revolution

All Elite Wrestling grew too fast. The roster grew too big, and now nothing feels special anymore. This is still the best roster in the world — even over WWE — even without Giulia or Ospreay.

But when you have two dozen talents that can make a legitimate case to be a world champion, that creates problems. For when you have 20+ world champion-caliber talents on your roster, then nobody really stands out, do they?

And it’s not impossible to run a successful product with this roster. But it’s a very hard thing to do. I don’t believe McMahon, Levesque, Bischoff, or Russo would know what to do with so many talented wrestlers (maybe Heyman?). But unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Tony Khan does, either.

What made AEW unique was a strict focus on their youth with little to no industry veterans in the mix. We were promised a hard-hitting, Joshi-inspired women’s division, and we’ve got what amounts to a shell of the potential on the women’s roster.

Instead of the character-driven storylines we had in the first 3 years, we now have a absolute clusterfuck of a weekly show with a Ring of Honor product that should not be on AEW television to begin with.

And that’s not to say there aren’t good stories right now in AEW. The Christian Cage/Darby Allin saga is entertaining, the Blue/Willow/Hart angle intrigues me, Swerve vs. Hangman has life, and the “everyone wants MJF’s BBB” story is gaining traction (along side the Cole/Strong element).

But it’s clouded with random Ring of Honor matches, uninspiring returns like Paul Wight, an empty main women’s program, and can we please do something meaningful with Ricky Starks?

All is far from lost — but at this moment — it’s as if AEW has seemingly lost its smile.

AEW’s Identity Crisis

As a fan who grew up with AJPW and ECW, I have always been attracted to the counter-culture. If this is the late 2000s, give me ROH, Sendai Girls, PWG, SHIMMER, or CHIKARA over any WWE product any day.

It’s the same mentality I take towards music, movies, politics, and modern media in general. AEW was supposed to be shades of that counter-culture revolution — but in a mainstream form (paradoxical, I know). And for 3 years, they were — and sometimes, we still see shades of that on weekly shows and PPVs.

But something was lost along the way…

AEW has an identity crisis. 

Over time, AEW is starting to resemble a mainstream WWE product more often than not. Over this year we have seen more goofy segments, and more “sports entertainment” type storylines. And while the in-ring product remains solid, and there have been great moments to AEW’s name this year — it’s beginning to become outweighed by the “WWE-Style”.

Most importantly, though, Tony Khan is no longer listening to his own fan base. It seems now, more than ever, that Tony Khan and AEW doesn’t really know what it wants to be anymore.

Start Listening To Your Fans

I’ll close on this:

It’s not hard to turn this ship around if you just listen to your own fans.

-Keep Ring of Honor off of AEW TV.
-Actually try with your women’s division.
-Get most of your veterans off of weekly shows.
-Turn Rampage into an all-women’s show.
-Hyper-focus on your youth (Statlander, Takeshita, Starks, Hobbs, Abadon, etc.).
-Build real-life storylines that aren’t “sports entertainment” based.
-Bring back the rankings system.
-Bring back Danhausen.
-Trim the god damn roster once and for all.
-Get the 2019-21 AEW groove back…

And most importantly, go back to being the true alternative that was promised in 2019.

Look, I know that I’ll be watching for some time yet. In the end, I still love and support this company. However, for the first time, my perspective has started to shift into a territory of losing faith in the brand.

I don’t really want to be at that mindset; but if AEW is no longer the place to be, only to be a shadow of its former self — then what else to I do? Start watching WWE?

Well, if Giulia is there, I just might have to…

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post Why Tony Khan is Slowly Losing Me as a Diehard AEW Fan appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Tuesday night sparked a resurgence in the excitement between fans of WWE and AEW. Both shows were stacked, as they were in rare direct competition with one another, and both shows delivered. However, at the forefront of the battle was the nagging question waiting to be answered the day after: The TV ratings.

So who won?

Wrestling fans won. That’s who. Over 1.5 million fans tuned in to watch professional wrestling on a Tuesday night. More combined viewers tuned in to watch either AEW or NXT than the first primetime game of the NHL season between the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. In cable TV ratings, NXT finished at #2 for the night overall, with AEW at #4.

But as predicted, terminally online wrestling fans lost their minds over which side “won”. Well I’m here to tell you that all of this talk of TV ratings only matter up to a certain point. At least not to a point where any sane wrestling fan should truly worry about.

But before we dig in, how exactly do TV ratings work?

How TV ratings Are Measured

If Nielsen Media Research outreaches to your family and asks you to become a “Nielsen Family”, congrats! Your viewing habits will now become measured by the company and sent to networks and advertisers. Nielsen will hook up a device called an audimeter to the TVs in your household to measure what you watch on a daily basis.

In 2022, out of 122 million television homes, only 42,000 are “Nielsen family” homes; with approximately 122,000 TVs represented. What does this mean in the mathematical sense?

It means that Nielsen only truly measures what amounts to 0.001% of all homes in the U.S. to represent total viewership. Nielsen then takes what is known as “statistical sampling” to estimate total number of viewers. What you see every week for TV ratings is what amounts to a well-calculated guess by Nielsen on actual number of viewers for any given broadcast.

And this isn’t immediately including DVR, but we’ll get to that…

Furthermore, if you do not have this device, what you watch is not included in these ratings. And no, you cannot volunteer to become a “Nielsen family”, as you must fit a certain advertising demographic to qualify.

Doesn’t seem terribly accurate, does it? Well, the Media Rating Council thought the same a few years ago. The Media Rating Council is non-profit organization that regulates accreditation for media research and rating purposes. It was established at the request of U.S. Congress in 1963.

In 2021, this group actually suspended accreditation for Nielsen for undercounting viewership numbers. Earlier this year, Nielsen would gain back said accreditation, but the company has a history of being seen by some as inaccurate or unreliable.

So Why Do Networks and Advertisers Trust Nielsen?

Money. This is the short answer.

Advertisers need a way to justify what they are paying networks to air their commercials. The best networks can do is wait for numbers from Nielsen in their small sample size. This is why the 18-49 demo is so important. The assumption is that data from no less than 50,000 U.S. homes is enough to provide a clear path for ad placement on networks.

However, ratings alone is only a guide, given expectations. For example: while Smackdown on Fox draws in well over 2 million viewers per week, advertisers actually expect more for ad rates  from a primetime broadcast network program (Which is why Fox had no interest in renewing Smackdown). That’s right — the rules change a little when it comes to over-the-air versus cable…

Fox lost half a billion dollars on their deal with Smackdown because of lower ad rates, which was well below expectations. Given that many major broadcast network shows pull in anywhere from 3-5 million viewers — 2 million is slightly underperforming.

Furthermore, cord cutters and DVR eats into these live viewers, which had led cable networks to lean into live sports. Viewers are less likely to DVR a live football or hockey game; and more so with pro wrestling. So when it comes to cable, and you see NXT, WWE, and AEW in the top 5 for their night in network ratings — no matter what the number is — they are meeting expectations for cable television.

Speaking of DVR…

DVR/Live + 7 Ratings

What rarely gets measured in weekly wrestling TV reports are the Live +7 ratings. These are viewers that DVR/VoD the show and watch it within a seven day time period. This actually adds viewership numbers that often go unreported.

Example: The June 7th episode of AEW Dynamite brought in an estimated 903,000 viewers. However, the Live +7 total ended up at 146,000. These are viewers who watched later via DVR. In total, this show would have actually gotten around 1.025 million viewers.

And the same goes for any Raw or Smackdown. Their total reported viewership is always going to be higher when the Live +7 numbers are factored in. Granted, networks and advertisers never give as much weight to these extra figures, as viewers can simply fast forward through commercials; but nevertheless, the weekly TV rating is always underrepresented when compared to the Live +7 rating.

There is even C3/C7 Ratings, where viewing habits are measured in minutes of how much of the program was viewed live, or skipped through via DVR or Video on Demand.

And of course, we must get to the elephant in the room: Streaming.

Cord Cutters/Streaming

Nielsen does track streaming numbers for Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc. However, what they don’t tend to track are your cord cutters that utilize other methods of cable TV delivery. If a customer has a TV Select/Roku-Only subscription from Spectrum for example; their viewing habits aren’t getting measured. This goes for Sling, Fubo, YouTube TV, and others.

A commercial run on cable television is more valuable to networks and businesses than it is on streaming — as many consumers can purchase ad-free packages. I have all of my streaming (Paramount Plus, Disney+, etc.) completely ad-free. I hate ads. You probably do, too.

It’s why these same streaming services are increasing the rates of ad-free packages so that consumers may be tempted into sticking with the lower-cost packages with ads. Many consumers are surprisingly okay with an ad-supported platform; and this trend will only grow. Furthermore, according to Nielsen, as of 2023, streaming makes up nearly 40% (38.7) of all TV usage. 

Overall, this dynamic makes it difficult for networks to make money off of low ad revenue that normally comes with streaming services compared to traditional broadcast or cable television. It’s why a good 18-49 demo in a top 5 rated show, no matter the night, is a win for any network that carries it.

It’s why a network like Warner/Discovery is happy with AEW’s ratings, as they perform well in the demo and consistently rank in the top 5 of their night in total cable TV rankings. Furthermore, they rank among the top 3 shows across all of WBD’s networks.

And the same can be said for USA, as Raw and NXT share the same consistency.

So Do These Ratings Actually Matter?

Yes and no.

They matter to the extent of the network’s happiness. If USA and WBD are happy with WWE and AEW’s ratings — then that’s all that matters. Growth is nice, but consistency and guaranteed ad revenue is still very lucrative in this post-TV era. As long as both major promotions are hanging in the top 5 of their respective nights of programming (mainly Raw and Dynamite), there isn’t much concern over the exact viewers.

USA and WBD can take these top five numbers and sell them to potential advertisers for big bucks. I would be concerned if numbers of either show say drops over 50% of their year-over-year ratings — but that hasn’t, and likely won’t happen.

And also keep in mind that ticket revenue, streaming deals (WWE/Peacock | Rumored AEW/Max) and PPV buy-rates, add to the overall financial success of both companies.

In short, take the importance of TV ratings with a grain of salt; sans a drastic change in either brand.

Should Fans Discuss TV Ratings?

If I’m being blunt: It only drags the sport down. As Adam Copeland put it on The Masked Man Show…

“How can you not enjoy the fact that both shows are trying to load up and trying to put the best show on imaginable? That’s all I really care about. I’ll try to make sure that my part of the show is all killer, no filler. That’s my only job. I’m sure both will get watched, when it’s all said and done with DVR and however else it gets computed since everything with ratings is so antiquated.” – Adam Copeland

Unless you’re a part of a conversation with McMahon, (Nick) Khan, and Levesque at a meeting with USA; or a part of the same with Tony Khan and WBD — then any fan really has no business with incessant ratings talk.

If you bring up ratings in a manner that invokes tribalism or bad faith criticism, then you’re potentially part of the problem with the industry’s fan base. Competition is great; but trying to compare TV ratings between shows when it’s hard to truly gauge accurate metrics is a fruitless venture.

Just enjoy pro wrestling and have fun.

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post Everything You (Probably) Ever Wanted to Know About Wrestling TV Ratings appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

It’s happening again…

World Wrestling Entertainment remains a hot product and the undisputed #1. All the while, AEW tickets sales seem to be declining, there are rumors of multiple talents ready to jump ship, and headcase C.M. Punk seems to be headed back to WWE just out of pure spite for AEW.

But by many measures, Tony Khan’s promotion is still doing well. AEW has three weekly TV shows, one of which (Dynamite) is constantly in the top 5 of all Warner/Discovery network programs. Rumors of a monthly PPV streaming deal with Max are afloat, the product has been on a creative upswing as of late, and with the recent signing of Adam Copeland; this company isn’t in any dire straits.

But as WWE prepares to stack the deck against AEW as NXT is up against a rare Tuesday night Dynamite broadcast — it led me to this thought:

AEW is no longer the “hot” product. McMahon and Levesque smell blood in the water, and history just might repeat itself. It’s a sad history that has seen WWE conquer its rivals for decades — as they believe that they must be the only show in town. As history has shown; WWE doesn’t do what is best for the wrestling business; but only what is best for WWE…

–

What History Tells Us

On Nov. 26, 1987, NWA would hold Starrcade: Chi-Town Heat, live on PPV. The event was a culmination of the the success of Jim Crockett Promotions up to that point. Even though WWF was the mainstream #1 promotion at the time, not long after the announcement of this Starrcade, Vince McMahon would create Survivor Series to compete.

It was scheduled on the same day; Nov. 26, 1987. Furthermore, McMahon threatened cable companies who aired Starrcade instead of Survivor Series with not being able to air Wrestlemania IV the year after.

It worked. As a result, many cable companies didn’t air Starrcade, and Survivor Series beat them handedly in PPV buy-rates.

This was just another notch in the belt of a “conquer and assimilate” method of McMahon’s ruthless business mentality  – much like The Borg.

Oddly enough, WWE Corporate and The Borg share some similarities…

This trend of assimilation became notable when Hogan left the successful AWA in 1983. Patera, Adonis, and Ventura would soon dip out of the then successful AWA promotion as well. Steamboat, the Briscoes, Valentine and Piper would soon leave the NWA to join Vince’s growing conglomerate by 1985.

We can talk about the talent raids of WCW and ECW, and the purchase and assimilation of both. We can talk about WWE reaching into Ring of Honor, TNA/Impact and New Japan, and pulling out lucrative and already-polished talent to mold into their own.

But we’re here today to discuss the alleged coming talent raids of the current #2 promotion; All Elite Wrestling. After Cody’s departure from AEW (in a similar vein to Hogan’s), we now see Jade Cargill essentially brought over. It is assumed that when contracts are up by the end of the year, deals will be offered to the likes of Ricky Starks, Wardlow, and the big one — MJF.

Right out of WWE’s old playbook. Conquer and assimilate. And now for really no reason, in the same vein of Survivor Series vs.  Starrcade, John Cena, The Undertaker, Paul Heyman, Asuka, and Becky Lynch are appearing on an episode of the “developmental” NXT brand. By total coincidence on the same night that AEW Dynamite will air one night on Tuesday due to NHL hockey.

Son of a bitch; it’s happening again, isn’t it?

…

…but it doesn’t have to…

Here are just a few ways AEW can avoid the same fate as WCW or Impact; but in my humble opinion, this needs to be put in motion as soon as humanly possible…

–

#1 Focus on Your Youth

Wait, AEW already does. Why is this here?

The bulk of AEW’s current champions are all in the late 20s or early 30s. Stars regularly seen on AEW television like Swerve, MJF, Darby, Jay White, Page, Blue, Saraya, Statlander, etc. — are all young in the eyes of the industry. So why does there need to be a focus on youth in AEW?

Because the average viewer is malleable, and marketing works. 

AEW needs to be marketed as the future on a consistent basis; to become the Harajuku equivalent of wrestling culture. This is where the true stars of tomorrow perform. I have advocated for the AEW version of the Young Lions Cup; and this needs to become a reality.

“Cody? Jade? Old news. Bidding wars? Who cares — next man or woman up. We have plenty of top-tier talent.”

“NXT has a poor history of main roster call-ups to Raw and Smackdown. You want to see the real future of pro wrestling along with established veterans? Tune in every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.”

This needs to be the mentality driven home on a weekly basis, along with some slick marketing and youth-driven stories. Of course, youth alone won’t stave off WWE’s attempts at assimilating another promotion’s talent.

We need to address the annoying pests in the ring: “Expert” wrestling analysts. 

–

#2 Beat Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff

Why? This doesn’t make any sense at all…who cares what some old, out-of-touch veterans think?

It’s because other less-knowledgeable fans soak up what they say on the regular, then regurgitate it on social media. However, admittedly, they are sometimes correct. 

Even me, an AEW diehard, was sort of taken out of last week’s Fenix/Jackson match. These are two wrestlers selling injuries in-story and yet they’re still flying around the ring as if they’re both 100%?

While I enjoy the PWG/New Japan style AEW often brings, there is a way to tweak it just slightly so it fits into the box that many mainstream and internet critics wish it to be. I love the Fighting Spirit Japanese style that AEW tends to bring — where finisher-after-finisher just can’t seem to put the other opponent away in many cases.

But there has to be a balance. There needs to be a limit; and sometimes, finishers must be protected.

I believe you can lessen the high spots and outside dives, yet keep the same faster-paced work-rate that AEW fans are used to. The product can still be the in-ring alternative to WWE’s safer, sanitized style. However, I would slow it down just a notch, and increase in-ring storytelling just a notch.

Create a new in-ring style with a King’s Road flare, but with added storytelling, and some Indy-riffic fun sprinkled in. Make your high-spots meaningful, your blade-jobs saved for actual blood feuds, and story and psychology at the fore-front of every match.

In other words, don’t give industry veterans like Cornette, Bischoff, and Nash any room for criticism — at least not legitimate criticism. 

Most importantly, you may attract those malleable “casual” fans who may view AEW’s in-ring style as too fast-paced. Those are who you really want to impress, here.

Speaking of “casuals”…

–

#3 Lean Into Character Work (Even More)

How did Julia Hart become so popular in a short program with a still very over Kris Statlander?

Character work.

And if you’ve seen Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale recently, they are now adorning the blackened eye Julia Hart once had after she was misted by Malakai Black. It looks as if Hart is forming her own stable.

AEW has increased their character work as of late, if anyone has bothered to notice. “Timeless” Toni Storm is a hit, MJF has come into his own as “Your Scumbag”, Bullet Club Gold are on a hot streak, the Adam Cole/Roddy “Neck” Strong story has delivered some fun segments, and Christian Cage is doing some of the best work of his life right now.

Keep going. 

We need Britt Baker back as her old self and some life put into the women’s championship scene. Swerve Strickland needs to become even meaner as he his on the rise. It seems like Wardlow is back and as brutal as ever — good. Start an injury storyline where Wardlow can’t be stopped. Build him as a forgotten angry monster.

Every minute of Dynamite and Collision needs to have a character on-screen that will make the average viewer think “Whoa; whatever this is, I need to keep watching.”

It’s the same logic Paul Heyman applied to Sabu when signing him to ECW. His in-ring ability didn’t matter — here was a dude who came out in restraints, wearing a Hannibal mask, who did crazy shit in baggy green pants.

It’s the same logic as to why Darby Allin is so over.

Build even more characters. More characters = more stories, which equals more investment.

Which leads to…

–

#4 A Classic ‘Whodunnit’ Mystery

Is Britt Baker back and low-key using novocain on her opponents mid-match to grab wins? She denies it, but who else is it? Maybe her “conspiracy theory” from long ago is true…What caused the ring rope to snap during Max Caster’s finisher, causing him to fall and for The Acclaimed to lose their trios championships? Who attacked and spit black mist in the face of “Hangman” Adam Page? The House of Black denies it; so who did it; and how is The Bunny involved?

These are very random (and possibly bad) storylines — but you get the point.

We have something brewing with the current “who attacked Jay White” segment last week on Dynamite, but it’s too early to tell how this will pay off. Everyone loves a good mystery, and the storyline should be presented as a mystery.

It’s hard to craft a good wrestling mystery story, but having at least one good one per year keeps viewers intrigued on what will happen next. It keeps the unpredictability in an otherwise usually predicable art.

It’s just another reason to tune in…

#5 Expand in Local/Global Markets

It was only the Summer of 2021 that WWE ticket sales were actually behind AEW’s in some markets. While that trend has reversed since; I have to wonder why Khan keeps running shows in the same markets. Attending a wresting show isn’t easy. You have to account for cost, travel, possible hotel stay, and time off of work — and this is harder if you have a family.

Now I’m not sure what to make of AEW’s ticket sales. I have to think that Collision has added ticket sales in place of lost Dynamite sales. If a Dynamite and Collision are in my area, I’d likely lean towards attending a Collision simply because it’s on a weekend (though somehow I ended up grabbing tickets to a Dynamite in late November this year…).

But why not run a show in Tokyo? Why not travel to Berlin, Stockholm, and back to London for special episodes of Dynamite or Collision? Call it a World Tour. Sure, pre-taped results might be spoiled, but make sure that even with spoilers, it’s worth tuning in for.

But more importantly, Khan needs to run in new markets.

Running the same venues into exhaustion isn’t going to ensure that more fans are attending shows. For example, Dynamite has only hit Milwaukee in the state of Wisconsin. Why not aim for Green Bay as well? You can hit Erie, PA weeks after hitting Pittsburgh, but not Green Bay (who has a higher population than Erie)?

This is just one example. From heavier local advertising to new markets — the time is now to expand into new areas.

#6 Become the “Show to Watch”

Can we get Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at Tuesday’s Dynamite out of Missouri? That would help this cause…

But in all seriousness, AEW is a really good product right now. But so was AWA, NWA, WCCW, CWF, and Mid-South. In the end, it didn’t matter how good they were when they had a more powerful conglomerate in the WWF breathing down their necks in order to conquer and assimilate them.

As a default #2, AEW simply always has to be on fire. It’s not fair, but it’s how a brand can create longevity. WCW was “hot” once — and then they faded away. TNA was “hot” once, and did the same. AEW can’t afford for history to repeat itself in that same fashion.

Is it bringing in hot celebrities, hosting live musical performances from well-known acts, or even promoted vignettes with HGTV stars? (Warner owns HGTV). Everything should be on the table right now.

Every AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision should be seen as a god damn party atmosphere where anything can happen. However, it must still maintain the core element of what made AEW great to begin with — great in-ring wrestling. You can still build all of this to compliment the (tweaked) PWG/New Japan hybrid that most AEW matches are. Build dynamic characters and tell dynamic stories.

But overall, Khan needs to assemble a team to help stay on top of current trends in the entertainment industry, as well as the wrestling industry. If AEW is going to stay on top, they must become “can’t miss” TV in all areas.

If this becomes the norm over years time; it is feasible that AEW could overtake WWE in both TV ratings and attendance. But they must overcome this pivotal part in history right now and stake their claim as the true place to be for professional wrestling.

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post How AEW Can Prevent History From Repeating Itself and Fend Off WWE’s Incoming Surge appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Love him or hate him, Tony Khan has single-handedly changed the professional wrestling landscape for years to come. Whether you’re a WWE loyalist, an AEW diehard like myself, or a fan that simply enjoys both brands — competition in any form is best for business. For the most part, I have very little quarrels about AEW’s product.

However; it doesn’t mean it’s perfect…

In AEW’s short history we have seen a plethora of dream matches and money feuds. From Page vs. Omega and MJF vs. Punk, to Baker vs. Rosa and MJF vs. Cole, Tony Khan is no stranger to booking good pro wrestling. However, like any human being on earth, he has his flaws.

I have been a frequent viewer of the promotion since its inception. But I even know a simple truth to how Khan puts together his product. Generally speaking, for as much as Khan gets right, this one fact remains:

He is a better match-maker than wrestling booker. As a result of this, TK falls into the trap of often being too protective of how he books his talent.

Protecting finishers, protecting kayfabe, and protecting the wrestling business hierarchy are all worthy ventures. However, being too protective in your booking is simply no longer necessary in 2023 where brand loyalty often supersedes quality. If rumors are true that WBD/Max will want AEW to go to an annual 12-PPV model, Khan will need to change how he books his product.

For example, we all witnessed the return of Miro to AEW and the debut of C.J. Perry at All Out over three weeks ago. After a hearty meat-slapping good time between beefy boys Miro and Hobbs, we haven’t seen or heard from either since. It’s this “I’ll put this on the shelf and save it for later.” mentality that Khan seems to take at times is what can delay what could be many money-making feuds.

I am no booking expert, but as a fan of over 30 years, and familiar with dozens of past/present wrestling promotions, I am noticing a trend: Tony Khan might be too conservative of a wrestling booker. Not that Khan should fly off the handle and start booking Russo-esqe Crash TV; but there is a happy medium for the product to find. But first things first — we need to start seeing some losses…

Main Event Talents Should Start Taking L’s

All Elite Wrestling is in an interesting place in that they truly have an elite roster. If you take a step back to think about it, the roster is stacked with main event talent. However, the challenge that comes with this is when you are a conservative booker, you don’t want any of your top guys to ever lose over fears that they might look weak.

This mentality drastically needs to change.

Now we have seen this play out recently with Omega taking clean losses to Takeshita, or Cole to MJF, but these happen few and far between. Even in the recent Texas Death Match between Ricky Starks and Bryan Danielson, Starks still took the loss. It’s not that Starks was “buried” by any means, but I feel as if a loss by Starks hurts more than a loss by Danielson.

The AEW roster is like a sakura (cherry blossom tree) in early April.

You have your established main event talents on the tree:

-Omega, Page, Moxley, Jericho, MJF, Cole, Danielson, Miro, Black, Joe, Saraya, Baker, Statlander, Hayter…

But then you have talents still in the process of fully blooming:

-Starks, Guevara, Allin, Hobbs, Perry, Strickland, Wardlow, Nightingale, Blue, Hart…

And this doesn’t even touch upon the tag team division with the likes of FTR, Young Bucks and The Acclaimed on top, with rising teams like The Righteous, The Gunns, and most importantly, Bullet Club Gold.

And the challenge is this: How can they all bloom at the same time?

It seems as if Khan is afraid that handing out too many losses to top stars, regardless of place on the overall card.

It’s easy when you have a top babyface in which everything revolves around. McMahon knew this all too well. Hogan, The Rock, Austin, Cena, Reigns. It almost makes the booking process too easy. However, not all wrestling fans like that style of booking and simplistic presentation. Like me, many appreciate the sports-oriented, wrestling-driven aspect of AEW with loads of “elite” stars.

You don’t necessarily need a ultra top babyface to build around and protect if your product is geared more on what happens in the ring than outside of it. However, Khan’s conundrum is that he has so many top would-be main-eventers and talents that he wants to protect them all.

Lean Into the Wrestling

So how do you protect a very talented roster? You leave it all in the ring. 

If you booked a brutal feud between Jon Moxley and Samoa Joe, would it really matter who went over and who didn’t? Not at all — that match would be a King’s Road fan’s wet dream, and neither Mox or Joe would likely come out looking weak.

If we booked Adam Page vs. Malakai Black (a feud that practically writes itself), would it truly hurt Page to take a pinfall? Not if the match was well done and the story was well told. We all know Miro is a beast, but if he took a loss in a slugfest with the likes of Wardlow or a mat classic with MJF, would it really hurt his standing amongst fans?

Of course not.

Building stories are crucial to any wrestling program, but if the story told in the ring makes both competitors look strong — main event talents eating losses will never threaten to hold the talent back. It beats having top stars randomly booked against low-carders on weekly shows which admittedly never excites me much.

This is where the many randomly booked title matches need to slow down. Guys like Action Andretti and Kommander are solid talents — but we don’t need to see them in throw-away matches against established stars like Jericho and Moxley.

In fact, you can develop a numbers-based analytics/rankings system for this type of “liberal” booking based on Paul Heyman’s wrestling philosophy…

Introduce an Internal Rankings System

I don’t mean win-loss records.

What I mean for this specific type is creating an internal rankings system for your talent so that others become elevated through various feuds. This is similar to Paul Heyman’s method of booking wrestling, where he often used main event talent to elevate those on the cusp by association.

This is simple in theory, difficult in execution. You rank all of your talents 1 to 5 based on where they are on the card. 5 is Main Event talent, 4 is Upper-Card, 3 Mid-Card, 2 is Low-Card, and 1 is your enhancement talents.

This is done for men’s, women’s and tag teams.

You always want to make sure you have a few 5v5 feuds happening to make some money. But you also want 5v4, 4v3, and 3v2 down the line to fill the larger card out. If the story is solid, and program is crafted in a way where all talents look strong, it almost doesn’t matter who “wins” the feuds. The ultimate idea is that through enough rubs and storytelling, those 4’s start to become 5’s, 3’s become 4’s, etc..

(Fun activity: Who are your 5s, 4s, 3s, etc.? List them in the comments below to book your own feuds! WWE feuds welcome.)

In some ways this is Booking 101, but I’ve often seen questionable mismatches in AEW, and even WWE. For example, I don’t know why FTR (5) would have a main event match with The Workhorsemen (1, 2 at best) on Collision. Especially to end up being confronted by Aussie Open (3 at best?).

And maybe Khan sees this differently, but I feel like there’s more valuable talent out there that deserve spots on this show. For this example, it really just seems that  Aussie Open are just there to serve as an easy W for FTR at WrestleDream. Aussie Open is good, don’t get me wrong — but for a PPV, teams like Bullet Club Gold, House of Black, Best Friends, or even 2.0, would have been a better booking option.

Start Taking Booking Risks

The bottom line is this: Once you start booking less conservatively, you don’t need to keep “saving” feuds. With talents like Cargill, Punk, and Cody leaving the company, we missed out on some potential dream matches. If we have dream matchups and money-making feuds in front of our faces, please, Tony, pull the trigger and let’s fucking go!

I’m going to list below a number of AEW feuds that we have yet to see that, in my opinion, would draw a lot of eyes to it. These don’t even include tag team feuds…

-“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Malakai Black
-Toni Storm vs. Julia Hart
-Samoa Joe vs. Jon Moxley
-Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter
-The Acclaimed vs. The Righteous
-Miro vs. Kenny Omega
-Jay White vs. MJF
-“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Andrade
-Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage
-Eddie Kingston vs. Samoa Joe
-Swerve Strickland vs. Eddie Kingston
-Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Samoa Joe
-Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks
-Ricky Starks vs. Wardlow
-Ricky Starks vs. Kenny Omega
-Bryan Danielson vs. Adam Cole
-Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe
-MJF vs. Kenny Omega
-Saraya vs. Willow Nightingale
-MJF vs. Miro
-Swerve Strickland vs. MJF
-Jay White vs. Kenny Omega
-Taya Valkyrie vs. Thunder Rosa
-Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker
-Orange Cassidy vs. Sammy Guevara
-Athena vs. Toni Storm
-Willow Nightingale vs. Britt Baker
-Jack Perry vs. Orange Cassidy
-Orange Cassidy vs. MJF

…and the list goes on and on and on…

Once you start moving to 12 PPV’s a year, per rumor, you have to start taking more booking risks. The loyal AEW crowd will be here no matter what, and in this case, the rewards outweigh any risks of not protecting your talent.

There is so much elite talent in AEW that many simply don’t need that protection. It’s time that TK should consider booking a little less conservatively moving forward in efforts to elevate his roster’s future.

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post Is Tony Khan Too Conservative With His Booking? appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

There are no such thing as casual wrestling fans. The term needs to die, along with the indirect tribalism that comes with it. Even if I once believed in the “casual” fan; I can assure you — it’s a myth. For context, let’s look at a rhetorical conversation…

–

Let’s say you consider yourself a Star Trek fan (as we all should). You watch the shows (Strange New Worlds, Discover, Lower Deck, etc.) on a weekly basis on Paramount, and you quietly enjoy the series. You aren’t on social media talking about it; you aren’t privy to all the news surrounding the Star Trek universe, and you may not have a lot of Star Trek merchandise. If there’s a fan convention in your area with past Star Trek stars, you probably don’t go.

Then you meet some nerd one day who echoes your love for Star Trek. However, he is terminally online, and discusses the show at length on social media. He is constantly updated all of the latest news, owns dozens of pieces of Star Trek merchandise and has paid for multiple pictures with past Star Trek stars at conventions.

Once this nerd realizes that you aren’t participating in the fandom in the same way he is, he utters these words:

“Oh, so you’re a casual Star Trek fan.”

“Casual? What the fu-”

And then the conversation with this dork becomes more awkward than it should be.

With that context behind us, let’s dig in.

The Myth of the Casual Fan

Most like to throw the casual fan term around, along with the Monday Night Wars. Record viewership with the upward trend that was pro wrestling in the late 90s clearly leaves room for this term to exist. But keep in mind that the most viewed wrestling television program of all time was the February 5th, 1988 edition of WWF’s Main Event.

This is well before the Monday Night Wars.

As a whole, wrestling fans have existed for literally over one hundred years. Even before the internet blew up, if you told a wrestling fan that they were “casual” because they didn’t subscribe to the Wrestling Observer and partake in tape trading, you would probably get called a annoying dork.

Since the early 2000s, the pro wrestling audience has largely shrunk. Many were lost to MMA, many simply grew out of it, and many have succumbed to an increasingly overstimulated society where there are so many options for media entertainment that we can’t keep up. In 2023, either you enjoy pro wrestling — or you don’t. 

Up to 90% of the TV viewing audience for both WWE and AEW are not terminally online. They have found a way to simply watch a weekly wrestling program without the need to go online to converse about it, or follow up on non-kayfabe news.

There are no such thing as “casual” wrestling fans. There are only just wrestling fans. 

Even if a general fan only tunes in for PPVs in the same way some sports fans only tune in for the playoffs — they’re still just fans. Not “casuals”. So what do we call the minority 10% that are online to discuss professional wrestling?

Dorks. We call them dorks.

(and yes, I am a dork as well)

Internet Wrestling Fans Are Dorks. That’s Okay, but…

Stardom is one of the best wrestling promotions in the world right now. There is nothing wrong with being a Stardom fan, and if you’re a complete dork like myself, will travel all the way to Tokyo to catch an upcoming PPV this year.

However, I would speculate that well less than 10% of the non-Japanese average wrestling fan even knows what Stardom is, much less anyone from the company. Embracing online conversation about pro-wrestling from the most niche promotions to the top dogs in WWE and AEW is great. But it’s far from the norm for the majority of wrestling fans. 

Even if none of us really know what’s happening backstage, we can all try our best to discuss what we think we know in a giant Dunning-Kruger Effect-like bubble. It is truly grand to share pro wrestling across the globe in its many forms and styles; and engage in endless conversation surrounding such subjects. The larger online wrestling community is wonderful when discussion is fruitful, we can respect different opinions, and adults are in the room.

BUT…(and here’s where the but comes in…)

Amidst discussion of TV ratings, booking decisions, uprising stars, comes the worst type of internet fan, which makes a lot of us dorks look bad.

The Wrestling Troll

When you get paid no money to obsess over your love for one entertainment company, and in the same breath work hard to insult the other competitor entertainment company you don’t like…

You have issues.

But what this does is create an unnecessary separation. It creates the illusion of the casual fan, as many regular wrestling fans aren’t unpaid goofs that create wrestling memes to get a few dozen likes on social media. Or spend far too much time behind a moniker for the sole purpose of trolling the wrestling show they don’t like.

To call the majority of wrestling fans that aren’t terminally online sops “casual” is kind of a slap in the face to those that just lead normal lives that just want to watch their favorite weekly wrestling show.

And it makes it hard for online wrestling dorks (like myself) who don’t want to engage in tribalism, and actually have productive discussions about our passion for wrestling, to exist and avoid these trolls.

Hot take, but the large majority of the wrestling fan base doesn’t care if “plans were changed at the last minute” by Vince McMahon. They don’t care if Tony Khan is still (after 4 years) learning on the job on how to be a successful wrestling promoter. Most wrestling fans couldn’t give less of a shit if AEW’s year-over-year TV ratings for last week’s Dynamite is up or down.

Most wrestling fans aren’t online dorks. And they especially aren’t trolls.

There Are No Casual Fans

With wrestling TV ratings at numbers nowhere near what they were during the 80s and the Attitude Era, it’s safe to say that what remains of the base are fans who will go out of their way to tune in on a weekly basis. But remember, up to 90% of who tune in, are barely, if ever, on social media talking about it.

If a fan isn’t online in any capacity, it doesn’t automatically make them “casual”.

If anyone (including myself) tries to claim that WWE books to the “casual fan”, they should find someone to kick them in the dick, much like Sammy Guevera did to Chris Jericho last night. Sure, both WWE and AEW will pull the celebrity card for the occasional spike in TV ratings. But if a 12-year-old Logan Paul fan tunes in to an episode of Smackdown because Paul was advertised, he’s not there to watch WWE’s brand of wrestling — he’s there to see Logan Paul.

This kid isn’t a wrestling fan in any way, he’s the fan of a doofy bit-coin grifter who sells terrible sports drinks. If he then becomes a WWE fan after, then he’s just now a wrestling fan. Not a casual.

The term “casual” fan just needs to die.

You either like wrestling or you don’t. Yes, there are multiple levels of fandom that come with it. However, being a person that loves discussing the inner-workings of the industry, booking techniques, history, and niche promotions, doesn’t make that person any more of a fan than a person who just likes to quietly watch on a weekly basis — and nothing more.

Do you want to know the secret to “getting the casuals” and increasing TV ratings?

BOOK A BETTER WRESTILNG SHOW, IDIOT.

You take two or more talented wrestlers; you create a believable conflict, you build the hype for a future match between the talents over weeks time, and thus, give viewers a reason to go out of their way to tune in for said match. At that point, you either have a payoff, or continue the story through other means.

Rinse and repeat for all feuds on the show.

I bet if you asked a “casual” fan and an internet fan how to “book good wrestling”, you would basically get that exact same answer.

The internet has overcomplicated professional wrestling. Online and non-online fans will simply like what they like out of their wrestling product; be it WWE or AEW. Getting out of the mindset of what “works” for the “casual” fan, and what “works” for the “smart fan” is what is most important here.

There are no casual fans. There are just different levels of wresting fandoms. And when pro wrestling is supported by all walks of wrestling life (even the goofy trolls), then these labels no longer matter — and we can all just enjoy a great wrestling product together.

Stop overthinking this. Pro wrestling was not meant to be an exercise in mental gymnastics.

-T5W
t5wrestling@yahoo.com

The post There is No Such Thing as a Casual Wrestling Fan appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.